Pirate Bay co-founder detained pending Swedish tax hack investigation

Loek Essers |
Sept. 17, 2012

Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, co-founder of the Pirate Bay, has been detained by a Stockholm district court pending an investigation into his involvement into the hacking of Logica, a Swedish IT firm that provides tax services to the Swedish government, the public prosecutor said on Friday.

Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, co-founder of the Pirate Bay, has been detained by a Stockholm district court pending an investigation into his involvement into the hacking of Logica, a Swedish IT firm that provides tax services to the Swedish government, the public prosecutor said on Friday.

Svartholm Warg, who was a fugitive from a Swedish jail sentence after being convicted for copyright violations related to his work with Pirate Bay, was arrested in Cambodia late last month at the request of Swedish authorities and deported to Sweden on Tuesday. Once there, he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Logica hack, said public prosecutor Henry Olin. The court decided to detain Svartholm Warg for two weeks, and it is possible that his detention will be prolonged when the two weeks are over, he added.

Logica's security was breached earlier this year when hackers stole the personal information of thousands of Swedes, including social security numbers and addresses, Olin said.

Svartholm Warg's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

As part of Friday's decision, the Pirate Bay co-founder will not be allowed to communicate with the outside world without the prosecutor's consent, other than contacting his lawyer. The intent is to prevent him from contacting other suspects or witnesses so that the prosecution can carry out an effective investigation, Olin said.

When the investigation is finalized a decision will be made about whether there is enough evidence to prosecute Svartholm Warg for the Logica hack.

Meanwhile, Svartholm Warg will now begin serving the one-year prison sentence for his involvement in The Pirate Bay.